Blast-furnace casting apparatus.



T. McDONALD. BLAST FURNACE GASTING APPARATUS.

nnw I 9 .l. 6 2 O 0 D 9 n m P L m R P A D E H N o H A C U P 0| A 1 9 1 1 3 SHEETSSHEET l.

INVENTOR WITNESSES T. McDONALD.

BLAST FURNACE CASTING APPARATUS.

' APPLICATION FILED APR. 5. |9|3. Dec.

S-SHEET 2- INVENTOR 211% WITNESSES T. McDONALD. BLAST FURNACE CASTING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED APR.5. I9l3.

Patented Dec. 26, 1916.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3- INVENTOR )Zfim wrrmz'ssss THOMAS MoDONALD, F YOUNGSTOWN, OHIO.

BLAST-FURNACE CASTING AP PARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 26, 1916.

Application filed April 5, 1913. Serial No. 759,282.

naee Casting Apfparatus, of which the fol- Heretofore, it has been the practice in tapping blast furnaces to conduct the molten lowing is a speci cation.

My invention relates to the construction and arrangement of apparatus for handling and conveyin molten iron from the tap ping hole or iron notch of a blast furnace into the ladle cars in which the iron, in a molten condition, is transported to a metal mixer, casting machine, or other place of use.-

iron therefrom by means of a stationary main trough or runner to a selected number of the series of stationary branch troughs or runners which are positioned on one, or, usually, on both sides of the furnace cast house, the molten iron flowing from one or another of the branch troughs into one of the several ladle carspositioned one below each branch trough on depressed tracks arranged alongside the exterior of the furnace cast house. Of recent years the main troughs and the branch troughs have been made of iron, although in some cases sand runners are still employed to conduct the molten metal from the furnace tapping hole to iron spouts forming the branch runners which overhang the depressed ladle car tracks.

The ladle cars are necessarily of considerable length over all, and the distance from center to center of the branch troughs must be approximately the same as the distance from center to center of the ladle cars. As a number of ladle cars must be spotted or positioned beneath thebranch troughs to insure suflicient ladle ea acity to take care of the largest quantityo molten iron received in any one cast, the main troughs and branch troughs must be of considerable length,,and as the iron received by each ladle car flows through itsown branch trough, this practice results in the formation of a very eonsiderable amount ofscrap, the removal of which adds materially to the cost of the casting operations. The formation of such large amounts of scrap after each costing operation necessitates its removal and the cleaning and preparation of the troughs and branches for anot er cost after each casting o oration, all of which adds considerable to t e open ating ex ense of the blast furnace.

One 0 jectof my invention is to provide a blast furnace casting apparatus of 1m roved construction having novel means w ereby the flow of the molten metal is regulated and controlled in conducting the stream of molten metal from the furnace tapping hole into the ladle cars used in transporting the molten metal. In this connection it is roposed to conduct metal simultaneously mto ladle cars standing on tracks at opposite sideiof-the apparatus, or into a car on either trac Another object of this invention is to prowhereby the distance travele by the molten metal in being delivered into the ladle cars from the furnace to ping hole is lessened, and the formation '0 scrap is thereby materially decreased. p

Another ob'ect ofmy invention is to 1:0- vide a blast f urnace'casting apparatus aving improved means by the use of which the amount of scrap formed in the casting operation is materially lessened and the work necessary in and east ofmaintaining the iron runners in operative condition for the successive. casting operations thereby greatly reduced.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a blast furnace casting a paratus having improved means whereby t e necessity of using the usual manually operated gates or shutters in controlling the flow of the molten metal is avoided and overcome, and by which the flow of the metal is regulated and controlled by the operator from a safe distance. d

Further objects of my invention willbe disclosed hereinafter as the invention is more fully described and claimed. Referring, to the drawings forming part of this specification, Figure 1 is a plan showing a blast furnace cast house equipped with one arrangement of casting apparatus constructed and arranged in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is a sectional side elevation of the castin Fig. 3 is-a sectional etai showing the constrnction of' the turning mechanism by which the bifurcated trough forming part up aratus ofFig l.

i As shown in rack teeth 24 which mesh with of the uppariitus of, Figs. 1 and 2 is swung or oscillated in the operation of my improved apparatus. Fig. 4 is a plan showing a. blast furnace cast house with a modified form of casting apparatus, constructed and arranged in accordance with my invention. Fig. 5 is a. sectional side elevation of the casting apparatus of Fig. 4-. Fig. 6 is a sectional end elevation showing a detail of the construction of the troughs or runners employed in the apparatus of the'preceding figures.

In the accompanying drawings the numere] 2 designates the hearth or well of a blast furnace having the usual iron .notch or tapping hole 3 and cinder 'notch l. Leadingfrom in 'front of the tapping hole 3 is the usual skimmer trough 5 by which any molten slug issuing from the tapping hole in the casting operation is separated from the stream of iron discharged from the blast furnace tapping hole. i

The discharge or delivery end of tlie' skimmer trough 5 is connected to a main runner or trough 6 which extends lengtlr wise away from the skimmer and. e branch runner 6 which isconnected to the shimmer trough 5 behind the dam 8f in the skimmer trough to-drain the skimmer trough of the pool of iron remaining behind the dami8 after each costing operation. The furnace, i'urnuce tapping oleand skimmer trough are constructed in the usual known manner. Figs. 1 and 2, the rear end of a bifurcated or forkedtrough 9 having branches 10 and lil is arranged to swing in.

a horizontal plane, the front end oi. the trough 9 being pivotelly connected by the strut or arm 12 to a pivot pin l3'which is fixed to the operators platform 14 at the lower end of the-furnace cast house 15. i

The trough 9 is provided with awferticel. partition 16 which separates the branches 10-und 11 so that byswinginfi the rear end of the bifurcatedtrough 9 a out the pivot pin13 the main runner 6 is caused to deliver a, stream of molten metal into either of the branches 10-or 11, and, through these.

branches; into the ladle car 17 or 18 posii tinned on opposite sidesof the cast house on the tracks 19 and 20. By bringing the trough -9 jnto an intermediate position, as shown in Fig. 1, the metal may be conducted into both branches 10 imd 11, and thereby simultaneously; delivered to the ladle curs I'Tnn'd 18, H i

The rear end of the movablebifurcated trough!) is provided with anti-friction rollers 21-:21 and 22 to support the trough, the rollers 21 and 22 being arranged to, travel on-the roller tracks 23-23 and the under side otthespout 9 is provided with the bevel keyed or otherwise, secured on one pinion-25 operating end of the horizontally extending shaft 26. The shaft 26 is mounted in fixed bearings 27 and 28 and, on its other 'end is provided with u bevel gear 2?) which meshes with the bevel gear 30 on the lower end of the rerticid stem or post 31 having on operating hund wheel 32 on its upper end,

the post 31 being rotutably mounted on the operators platforn'i L4 so that when the hand wheel is turned the horizontal shaft and connecting gcuring will swing orv oscillate the biflircatcd trough E) to bring the brunch 10 or branch ll directly beneath the discharge end of the main trough 6 as desired; As will'be seen frourl igs. l and 2 there is but a single brunch spent 10 or 11 leading to each sidem the furnace cast house. i

On the depressed spur tracks 19 and 20 provided on each side of the cast house, are ladle cars 33, 34 in addition to the cars 17 and 18 which are spotted or positioned beneath the troughs 10 and 11 during the .casting operation, and at the rear end o the tracks 19 unit 20 are winding drums 35 and 36 which are mounted on theends of e. horizontal shaft 37 mounted in suitable bearings and extending across the width and beneath the floor of'the furnace cast house 1'5.

'Ihe winding drums 35. and 36 are each provided with a cable or other llexi )le connection having-a hook or link. on thefree end thereof by which the ,drums, when operativelyoonnected, are detachably secured to the ladle cars 0 move the cars toward the 'end of the spur tracks 19 and 20, in positioning the ladle cars beneath the overhanging ends of the branch troughs 10 or 11. Alsoerectedi on a suitable foundation beneath the 38 which is connected by slow down gears 39.-and 40 with a coupling shaft 41 having clutch couplings'42 on the o posite ends thereof. The loose member-o each clutch pinion gear wheels 45, 46, such manner as to rotate one rope-drum 35, or 36, while the other is inoperative. The motor 38 is connected to the motorop'erating controller 38 on the operntor"s platform l4.

The movable'members of the clutch non-'- plings sting lever 47 whichin turn isoperatively disconnected and p 43, 44, areconnectedeaoh to copper connected to horizontal shafts 48 extending from the coupling-1s to the oper'zitors plat form 14 beneath t e floor of thecast'honse'. The ends of the operating sheftsj48 amen-1 nected by a .reach rod operating levers 50 ally'mountedon the operating latfo'rm 14'.

In the construction shown in i s. 4 and 5 the apparatus is very siinilar to't 49 to oneof, the hen ct shown in the preoedingfigures, and like partsh'ave d 1 25 and 51 which'alfe pivotsimilar numerals applied thereto, and the arra-ngen'ient with relation to the furnace of a the skimmer trough and main trough leading therefrom is the same as in the preceding figures. In this construction, however, the bifurcated trough 52 is stationary and is constructed so as to in elfect form two separate branch troughs 53, 54, one discharging on each side of the cast house 15.

The discharge end of the trough 6 leading from the iron skimmer is arranged to deliver the molten iron into a short swinging trough 55 and the rear end of the swinging trough is pivoted in the bearing 56 in such manner as to swing around a vertical axis so as to deliver the molten metal from the main trough into either of the two branches of the bifurcated trough 52. By bringing the swinging trough 55 into an intermediate position, the metal may be conducted into branch troughs 53 and 54, and thereby simultaneously delivered into the ladle cars 17 and 18. The trough '55 is connected through its pivot pin 56 to the lever 56 and the lever 56" is opcratively connected by the reach rod 58 to the lower end of the open ating lever 59 on the platform 14. The dis charge ends of the branch troughs 53 and 54 are positioned above the depressed tracks 19 and 20 locatcd on each side of the cast house in the same manner as has been before described in connection with Figs. 1 and 2. The winding drmn and cables by which the ca rs are drawn into position below the discharge ends of the branch troughs 53 and 54 are the same as in Figs. 1 and 3, and the motor 38 and drum shaft 37 are connected by slow down gears 43, 44, t5 and 46 with similar operating n'iechanism, the clutches 42 having similar hand operating levers.

In the operation of my improved apparatus illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 the furnace 9 is ta ppod by opening the tapping hole 3 in the usual manner, and the stream of molten metal flows through the tapping hole to the downwardly sloping or inclined skimmer trough 5, the slag being skimmed from the top surface thereof in the skimmer trough in the ordinary known manner, the skimmed metal passing downwardly through the main trough (5 connected to the iron skimmer and flowing into the swingin trough 9, the molten slag flowing throug the slug runner to the cinder garden 57. The stream of metal is then diverted by means of the swinging trough 9 into one or theother of the branch troughs 10, 11, so as to discharge into, for example, the ladle of the car '17 on the ladle car truck 19. When the ladle of this car 17 has become filled with molten metal the swingin branch trough is swung to cause the meta issuing) from the main trough 9 to flow into the ranch 11 and be discharged into the ladle car 18 positioned beneath the discharge end of this trough on side of the cast house 15. The cable on-the drum 35 is then connected to the filled ladle car 17 and the drum shaft 37 is started to rotatc which winds the cable upon the drum and moves the filled ladle car 17 upon the track It) so as to bring the ladle car 33 con pied to the filled ladle car 17 into position below the branch tron h 10.

When the second lat le car 18 on the track 20 (on the opposite side of the cast house) is filled, the trough 9 is again swung to cause the stream of metal to again flow down the branch 10 and be discharged into the ladle car min-ow positioned beneath the discharge endof this trough. The cable on the other drum 36 is then connected to the now filled ladle car 18 on the track 20, and the motor 38 is again'started to rotate the drum 36 and wind the cable thereon so as to pull the ladle car 18 from its position be neath the trough into the position shown dotted beneath the branch drain trough (5 leading from a point on the skimmer trough behind the dam 8 forming part of this'skimmer trough. In moving the car from its position beneath the trough 11 into the position shown dotted, the car 3-1 which is coupled to the car 18 is moved forwardly until it is positioned beneath the branch trough 11 in readiness to be tilled with molten metal.

\Vhcn the second ladle car on the track 19 has been filled, the bifurcated trough is again swung about its ,Vertlcal pivot to cause the molten metal to be dischargedfrom the main trough (S into the branch trough 11 and be delivered into the ladle car 34 which is moved into position beneath the trough 11 by the drum 36 through the cable and car 18 coupled thereto.

The ladies of the four cars will have sutlicient capacity to handle all ofthe metal obtained from the blast furnace in any one casting operation.

After the above described operations have been completed a gate 58 is lifted to permit the pool of molten metal held behind the dam S in the skimming apparatus to How into the branch trough [5 and be discharged therefrom into the tilled ladle car 18 which is now positioned la-neath the overhanging end of the branch trough 6. drained from behind the dam 7 is comparatively small the ladle will take care of such amount of metal without overfiowin With the construction shown in Figs. 4 and 5, the operation is the same as has been described before, except that instead of the bifurcated spent 52 being swung on a pivot the short intermediate spout 55 will be oscillated or swung on its pivot to deliver the stream of metal received from the main trough into the desired one of the two branch trolwhs 53 and 5e forming the bifurcated or forked trough52.

As the amount The advantages of my invention will'he uppnrent to those skilled in the art: By means of my improved apparatus the amount of sol-a1) nuulo in the casting operations is lurgely reduced, the cost of removing the scrap and utive condition is (lUt'l'tHlSQtl, and u lnl'gie Suvinp, in the operating cost of the'rnsting op erations is elleeted.

lwlmlilieutions in the eonstrur-vtion illlll urrnngeinent of the apparatus only he made without departing from my invention as dolined in the claims.

1. The combination withn lllilSt l'i'rlnuoe having a tapping hole, a skimmer trough lending from said tapping hole, and u nn iu trough lending from the skimmer trough, of ear trucks having ladle ears thereon, an adjustable trough leading from the main trough to said ladle era, and means for moving said adjustable trough to divert and control the flow of molten metal from the main trough into either or both of two of said ladle cars.

2. The combination with a blast furnace having a. tapping hole, a skimmer trough leading from said tapping hole, and a main trough. leading from the skin'i iner trough, of a car traclgon each side of the main trou 'h, ladle ears on the tracks, metal conduetin means leudin from the main trough and a justuble to de iver metal into a car on either track, and means for adjusting said metal conducting means to divert and nmintaining; the spouts in open the flow of molten inetnl in either or control the flow of metal into either or both of two said ladle curs.

3. The combination with n blast furnace having u tapping hole, at slcinnner trough loading from suid tapping hole, and a main trough leading from said sliin'nner trough, of our tracks having adjustable trough leading from the mnin trough to said hnlle-oei,1 ,,menns formoving sn id adj ustabhi tro'u'gli tofdii 'el t' and control both of two of said ladle ours, and means for ad justing the cars on said our tracks into metal receiving position during the furnace tapping. operation. i

l. The oomhinutiou with a blast furnace having n tapping; hole, a skimmer trough leading from said tapping hole, and a. main trough leading from said skimmer trough, of our trucks having lndle ears thereon, All adjustable trough leading from the main trough to said ludle ours, means for moving said adjustable trough to divert and control the flow of molten metal into either or both of two said ladle cars, and means for adjusting the position of said lndle cars on said our tracks during the furnace casting operation, snid means being contiguous to said trough manipulating means.

. In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand.

THOMAS MoDONALD. Witnessesf I VVARnnu F. PERRY, H. JAMns LITTLE.

ladle curs thereon, an 

